Arkadiusz Sołtysiak

Recent genomic data have revealed multiple interactions between Neanderthals and modern humans1, but there is currently little genetic evidence regarding Neanderthal behaviour, diet, or disease. Here we describe the shotgun-sequencing of ancient DNA from five specimens of Neanderthal calcified dental plaque (calculus) and the characterization of regional differences in Neanderthal ecology. At Spy cave, Belgium, Neanderthal diet was heavily meat based and included woolly rhinoceros and wild sheep (mouflon), characteristic of a steppe environment. In contrast, no meat was detected in the diet of Neanderthals from El Sidrón cave, Spain, and dietary components of mushrooms, pine nuts, and moss reflected forest gathering2,3. Differences in diet were also linked to an overall shift in the oral bacterial community (microbiota) and suggested that meat consumption contributed to substantial variation within Neanderthal microbiota. Evidence for self-medication was detected in an El Sidrón Neanderthal with a dental abscess4 and a chronic gastrointestinal pathogen (Enterocytozoon bieneusi). Metagenomic data from this individual also contained a nearly complete genome of the archaeal commensal Methanobrevibacter oralis (10.2× depth of coverage)—the oldest draft microbial genome generated to date, at around 48,000 years old. DNA preserved within dental calculus represents a notable source of information about the behaviour and health of ancient hominin specimens, as well as a unique system that is useful for the study of long-term microbial evolution.

Recent genomic data have revealed multiple interactions between Neanderthals and modern humans1, but there is currently little genetic evidence regarding Neanderthal behaviour, diet, or disease. Here we describe the shotgun-sequencing of ancient DNA from five specimens of Neanderthal calcified dental plaque (calculus) and the characterization of regional differences in Neanderthal ecology. At Spy cave, Belgium, Neanderthal diet was heavily meat based and included woolly rhinoceros and wild sheep (mouflon), characteristic of a steppe environment. In contrast, no meat was detected in the diet of Neanderthals from El Sidrón cave, Spain, and dietary components of mushrooms, pine nuts, and moss reflected forest gathering2,3. Differences in diet were also linked to an overall shift in the oral bacterial community (microbiota) and suggested that meat consumption contributed to substantial variation within Neanderthal microbiota. Evidence for self-medication was detected in an El Sidrón Neanderthal with a dental abscess4 and a chronic gastrointestinal pathogen (Enterocytozoon bieneusi). Metagenomic data from this individual also contained a nearly complete genome of the archaeal commensal Methanobrevibacter oralis (10.2× depth of coverage)—the oldest draft microbial genome generated to date, at around 48,000 years old. DNA preserved within dental calculus represents a notable source of information about the behaviour and health of ancient hominin specimens, as well as a unique system that is useful for the study of long-term microbial evolution.

Recent genomic data have revealed multiple interactions between Neanderthals and modern humans1, but there is currently little genetic evidence regarding Neanderthal behaviour, diet, or disease. Here we describe the shotgun-sequencing of ancient DNA from five specimens of Neanderthal calcified dental plaque (calculus) and the characterization of regional differences in Neanderthal ecology. At Spy cave, Belgium, Neanderthal diet was heavily meat based and included woolly rhinoceros and wild sheep (mouflon), characteristic of a steppe environment. In contrast, no meat was detected in the diet of Neanderthals from El Sidrón cave, Spain, and dietary components of mushrooms, pine nuts, and moss reflected forest gathering2,3. Differences in diet were also linked to an overall shift in the oral bacterial community (microbiota) and suggested that meat consumption contributed to substantial variation within Neanderthal microbiota. Evidence for self-medication was detected in an El Sidrón Neanderthal with a dental abscess4 and a chronic gastrointestinal pathogen (Enterocytozoon bieneusi). Metagenomic data from this individual also contained a nearly complete genome of the archaeal commensal Methanobrevibacter oralis (10.2× depth of coverage)—the oldest draft microbial genome generated to date, at around 48,000 years old. DNA preserved within dental calculus represents a notable source of information about the behaviour and health of ancient hominin specimens, as well as a unique system that is useful for the study of long-term microbial evolution.

Nemrik 9/10 is a Pre-Pottery Neolithic site in Northern Iraq that was excavated in 1985-1989 by S.K. Kozłowski. The
remains of at least 96 individuals were found in the excavated strata, most of which were dated to ca 9100–8600 BP. The bones were in poor condition, but several observations of taphonomic effects and indicators of diet, stress, physical activity, trauma and diseases were possible. First, a major change in burial practices occurred in Nemrik after ca 8900 BP. Prior to this date both adults and subadults were buried in domestic contexts. Moreover, there is some evidence of prolonged exposure of bodies. Later, the extramural cemetery was established for adults and multiple burials (of commingled elements) were replaced by single burials with no evidence of post mortem exposure. Inhabitants of Nemrik were farmers who based their diet on roughly processed cereals, but the pattern of dental wear suggests that it may have been comparable or even softer on average, than the diet of later Northern Mesopotamia inhabitants. Dental caries was extremely rare, but a high rate of linear enamel hypoplasia suggests stressful living conditions. The pattern of trauma and injuries is typical for a farming population and no evidence of interpersonal violence or injuries related to hunting was observed. In this respect Nemrik differs strikingly from the Proto-Neolithic cemetery found in the Shanidar Cave.

The history of the Fertile Crescent is well documented through archaeology and epigraphy. However, contrary to
adjacent regions in the Mediterranean andMiddle East, the reconstruction of diet and foodways through isotope
analysis is limited forMesopotamia and, consequently, matters of subsistence change are notwell understood. To
address this, collagen carbon and nitrogen isotopic ratios of human (N=84) and animal (N=8) samples from Tell Barri, Syria, predominantly ranging from the Early Bronze Age to Roman/Parthian times, were analysed to ascertain diachronic dietary patterns as well as gender- and age-related differences. Only in the early occupation periods is there evidence of gender-related diet, while the later phases do not display significant differences between males and females. In the early phases of occupation, subsistence is based on a terrestrial C3 diet, but changes towards the inclusion of more C4 based foodstuffs in later phases. This trend is unaffected by the clear historic reference to periods when increased pastoralism alternates with settled
agricultural farming.

During a three week long experiment, a male bovine head was scavenged by an adult Griffon vulture. Twenty five linear scavenging marks were identified on the defleshed cranium and mandible, ranging in length from 2 to 31 mm with an average of 9.02 mm. Based on the experimental observations, the following criteria may be used for diagnosis of vulture scavenging marks: a \_/ cross-sectional shape, tapered width, a tendency toward clustering into parallel sets of 2-4 lines, and the presence of V- or L-shaped
double lines. Although reliable identification of a single line as a vulture scavenging mark is impossible, a number of features meeting these criteria may allow for a more confident diagnosis. Scavenging lines appear significantly longer on more exposed areas of the cranium,

Change in Mediterranean grinding technology during the Hellenistic/Roman period affected the pattern of dental microwear since external grit particles were finer when flour was prepared using large rotary querns. Therefore, it is possible to detect the technological change through the analysis of human dentition. Here, the sample of teeth from Kültepe (ancient Kanesh), Turkey, is investigated to determine if the grinding technology changed at this site between the Middle Bronze Age (n = 12) and Hellenistic/Roman period (n = 4). A Hellenistic/Roman sample from Assos (n = 7) is also included for comparative purposes. The proportions and size of linear and nonlinear features did not differ significantly between periods or sites, which indicates that in spite of technical advances, old grinding technologies were still used in the Hellenistic/Roman period in Anatolia.

Volume: 2010
Year: 2010
Format: Paperback, 428p, 88 plates
ISBN: 9780903472272
Price: £25.00
Link to purchase: http://www.oxbowbooks.com/oxbow/once-there-was-a-place.html

This volume presents the research of the British team within the modern excavations at the northern Mesopotamian site of Chagar Bazar, resumed in 1999 after a 62-year hiatus since the excavations of Max Mallowan.  It incorporates settlement archaeology approaches and theoretical ideas of “place” in exploring the site and its internal and external landscapes.  The primary focus is the settlement during the early 2nd millennium BC (Old Babylonian Period, post-Samsi-Addu), its final ancient occupation. The authors have taken a contextual approach, integrating aspects of the settlement’s internal variations, including both community and private architecture, together with burial practices and symbolic and functional material culture.  While its political importance varied, Chagar Bazar’s persistence of occupation meant that it played a key role within the regional landscape as a meaningful landmark.

This volume presents the research of the British team within the modern excavations at the northern Mesopotamian site of Chagar Bazar, resumed in 1999 after a 62-year hiatus since the excavations of Max Mallowan. It incorporates settlement archaeology approaches and theoretical ideas of "place" in exploring the site and its internal and external landscapes. The primary focus is the settlement during the early 2nd millennium BC (Old Babylonian Period, post-Samsi-Addu), its final ancient occupation. The authors have taken a contextual approach, integrating aspects of the settlement's internal variations, including both community and private architecture, together with burial practices and symbolic and functional material culture. While its political importance varied, Chagar Bazar's persistence of occupation meant that it played a key role within the regional landscape as a meaningful landmark.

Camelid management was a major part of the Wari Empire's (ca. AD 600–1050) economy; however, it is uncertain whether camelid husbandry was centrally regulated or locally managed. To address this problem, we applied combined isotope ratio analyses (δ 13 C, δ 15 N, δ 18 O, 87 Sr/ 86 Sr, and 20n Pb/ 204 Pb) to camelid remains from Castillo de Huarmey, a Wari administrative center along the northern Peruvian coast. Results support a mostly local herding scenario, but Sr isotopes indicate that at least three animals were non-local and most likely came from the highlands. Compared to data from two contemporary Wari sites, Cerro Baul and Conchopata, bimodal distribution of δ 13 C values suggest that regardless of the distinctive geographical and ecological location of these sites, two distinct foddering strategies were practiced, based on only C 3 plant diet, or intermixed C 3 / C 4 plants diet. Our data support a dimorphic husbandry model with some herds engaged in grazing on the maize stubble and some herds operating outside arable areas, possibly indicative of short-distance seasonal transhumance. The presence of non-local animals at Castillo de Huarmey underscores the site's importance with respect to developed trade networks between the coast and the highlands.

A simple tool made from a gracile human femoral shaft was retrieved from a small animal bone assemblage found in a Late Bronze Age stratum at Gohar Tepe, Iran. The specimen has been identified as a chisel or gouge for which no analogous examples are known in the Near East. Studies examining similar tools from other regions suggest that such a tool may have been used for wood processing or pottery smoothing.

Objective: Although studies of dental wear on archaeological human remains have largely focused on mechanical wear (attrition and abrasion) in the past, chemical wear (erosion) is being increasingly identified as a separate form of wear. This paper aims to review the current state of research and to develop a protocol that may be universally used by biorchaeologists to specifically identify dental erosion. Design and results: A critical review of literature has been done in order to highlight the issues related to diagnosis of dental erosion in archaeological human remains. The bodies of work based on the analysis of both modern and archaeological dentitions raise their separate problems. In addition to a need to re-evaluate symptoms of dental erosion, notably dentin 'cupping', it is apparent that no specific protocol is adapted from medical to archaeological sciences. Authors rather rely on tooth wear indices and photographs of modern clinical cases for diagnosis. Furthermore, the diagenetic chemical alternation has rarely been considered as a bias. Conclusions: Here we suggest a three-step protocol: the primary method is the microscopic identification of dental erosion by SEM, followed by the exclusion of taphonomic aetiology on surrounding bone and soil pH analysis. Archaeologists should also explore possible causative agents of wear using archaeological and historic knowledge about the population being analyzed.

Wstęp (AS) W roku 1997 Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego opublikowało książkę Kazimiery Mikoś zatytułowaną Boginie deszczu. Studium po-równawcze. Książka ta bardzo nam się nie podoba. Zawiera sformuło-waną w niejasny sposób tezę, która w toku wywodu nie jest ...

Wstęp (AS) W roku 1997 Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego opublikowało książkę Kazimiery Mikoś zatytułowaną Boginie deszczu. Studium po-równawcze. Książka ta bardzo nam się nie podoba. Zawiera sformuło-waną w niejasny sposób tezę, która w toku wywodu nie jest ...

"This study sheds light on the agricultural economy that underpinned the emergence of the first urban centres in northern Mesopotamia. Using δ 13 C and δ 15 N values of crop remains from the sites of Tell Sabi Abyad, Tell Zeidan, Hamoukar, Tell Brak and Tell Leilan (6500–2000 cal BC), we reveal that labour-intensive practices such as manuring/middening and water management formed an integral part of the agricultural strategy from the seventh millennium BC. Increased agricultural production to support growing urban populations was achieved by cultivation of larger areas of land, entailing lower manure/ midden inputs per unit area—extensification. Our findings paint a nuanced picture of the role of agricultural production in new forms of political centralization. The shift towards lower-input farming most plausibly developed gradually at a household level, but the increased importance of land-based wealth constituted a key potential source of political power, providing the possibility for greater bureaucratic control and contributing to the wider societal changes that accompanied urbanization."

Samples of dental calculus were taken from 11 human individuals buried at Nemrik 9, a Pre-Pottery Neolithic site in Northern Iraq. All of them represented the time span of ca. 9100–8600 bp. In total, 95 microfossils were retrieved from these samples, including 70 phytoliths, 9 starch granules or clusters of starch, 3 pollens, and 1 xylem fragment. Most microfossils could be attributed to C3 cool season cereals, most likely wheat and barley, which is consistent with previous knowledge about the composition of crops in early farming communities living in the Fertile Crescent. In addition, three phytoliths and one starch granule typical of C4 warm season grasses were recovered including one subangular and faceted starch granule, which might derive from a native grass, but is not diagnostic of any genus. Prior to assigning diagnostic status to this starch, exhaustive reference work on native grass seeds is necessary. The presence of one Phragmites phytolith suggests non-alimentary processing of reeds using teeth or perhaps using the stem of this grass as a toothbrush or toothpick.

Recent genomic data have revealed multiple interactions between Neanderthals and modern humans 1 , but there is currently little genetic evidence regarding Neanderthal behaviour, diet, or disease. Here we describe the shotgun-sequencing of ancient DNA from five specimens of Neanderthal calcified dental plaque (calculus) and the characterization of regional differences in Neanderthal ecology. At Spy cave, Belgium, Neanderthal diet was heavily meat based and included woolly rhinoceros and wild sheep (mouflon), characteristic of a steppe environment. In contrast, no meat was detected in the diet of Neanderthals from El Sidrón cave, Spain, and dietary components of mushrooms, pine nuts, and moss reflected forest gathering 2,3. Differences in diet were also linked to an overall shift in the oral bacterial community (microbiota) and suggested that meat consumption contributed to substantial variation within Neanderthal microbiota. Evidence for self-medication was detected in an El Sidrón Neanderthal with a dental abscess 4 and a chronic gastrointestinal pathogen (Enterocytozoon bieneusi). Metagenomic data from this individual also contained a nearly complete genome of the archaeal commensal Methanobrevibacter oralis (10.2× depth of coverage)—the oldest draft microbial genome generated to date, at around 48,000 years old. DNA preserved within dental calculus represents a notable source of information about the behaviour and health of ancient hominin specimens, as well as a unique system that is useful for the study of long-term microbial evolution. Neanderthals remain our closest known, extinct, hominin relatives, who co-existed and occasionally interbred with anatomically modern humans across Eurasia in the Late Pleistocene epoch 1. Neanderthals became extinct in Europe around 40,000 years ago (40 ka), although the extinction process across the rest of Eurasia is less clear 5. Archaeological and isotopic data from the last glacial cycle (around 120–12 ka) suggest that Neanderthals were as carnivorous as polar bears or wolves 6 with a diet heavily based on large terrestrial herbivores, such as reindeer, woolly mammoth, and woolly rhinoceros 7. By contrast, microwear analysis of tooth surfaces from Neanderthals in different ecological settings, such as wooded areas or open plains, suggests that diets were guided by local food availability 3. Analyses of phytoliths, starch granules, and proteins from calcified dental calculus also indicate that Neanderthal diets included many plants, including some that were used for medicinal purposes 8. As a result, Neanderthal diet remains a topic of considerable debate, with limited data on the specific animals and plants directly consumed or the potential effects on Neanderthal health and disease. Although genomic studies continue to reveal evidence of inter-breeding between anatomically modern humans and Neanderthals across Eurasia 9 , little is known about the health consequences of these interactions. The genetic analysis of Neanderthal dental calculus represents an opportunity to examine this issue and to reconstruct Neanderthal diet, behaviour, and disease 10. Here, we report the first genetic analysis of dental calculus from five Neanderthals (two individuals from El Sidrón cave in Spain; two individuals from Spy cave in Belgium; and one individual from Breuil Grotta in Italy) and compare these data to a historic wild-caught chimpanzee (n = 1) and modern human (n = 1), as well as to low coverage sequencing of calculus from a wide-range of ancient humans (Supplementary Table 1). To provide increased resolution of the diseases that may have affected Neanderthals, we also deeply sequenced (> 147 million reads) dental calculus from the best-preserved Neanderthal, El Sidrón 1, which suffered from a dental abscess 4. Size-based PCR-amplification biases can confound standard metabar-coding analyses (for example, sequencing of 16S ribosomal (r)RNA amplicons 11,12) of ancient dental calculus 13. Consequently, we compared metagenomic-shotgun sequencing and 16S rRNA amplicon (V4 region) analyses of the Neanderthal dental calculus specimens—by far the oldest examined to date. The 16S amplicon datasets were not representative of the biodiversity revealed by shotgun sequencing (Extended Data Figs 1, 2 and Supplementary Tables 2, 3, 7, 16), as samples clustered according to methodolgy (Fig. 1) and contained disproportionately large amounts of non-oral microorganisms that were environmental contaminants (Supplementary Tables 2, 7 and Extended Data Figs 3, 4a). As a result, the 16S amplicon datasets were excluded from downstream analysis, along with the Neanderthal sample from the Breuil Grotta, which failed to produce amplifiable sequences. The shotgun datasets consisted of short DNA fragments (< 70 bp), which complicated accurate identification of bacterial species using standard software, such as MG-RAST or DIAMOND 14 (Extended Data Fig. 4b, see Supplementary Information). To circumvent this problem, we benchmarked and used a new metagenomic alignment

Topography of NorthEastern Iran is dominated by several high mountain ranges extending in a well-defined, linear pattern from east to west. The major ranges are Kopet-Dagh to the north that constitutes the frontier with Turkmenistan, and Alborz to the south in a parallel line that continues eastwards into Aladagh and Binalud in the southeast. Such a linear pattern made communication in the latitudinal axis relatively easy, with the Silk Road as the most famous example, transversing the region along the southern ranges of Aladagh and Alborz (Aubin 1971). On the other hand, routes from south to north were much less facilitated by topography and they had to cross several mountain ranges. For that reason, control over convenient mountain passes was crucial for local human groups. One such favourable intersection was located on a small plain east of the modern town of Jajarm, north to the river Kal-e Shur and south to the mountain pass between Kuh-e Bahar and Kuh-e Saluk. Here, close to the modern village of Sankhast, an archaeological site called Tepe Chalow was found (37 • 06 ′ 13 ′′ N 56 • 53 ′ 04 ′′ E, 967 masl). Devastated by modern agricultural activity, the site was first excavated in 2011 and then between 2013–2015 by a joint Iranian-Italian expedition directed by Ali Vahdati (e Northen Khorasan Branch of the Iranian Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization) and Raffaele Biscione (Institute for Technologies Applied to Cultural Heritage, National Research Council). Originally Tepe Chalow covered more than 40ha, but all upper strata were removed by bulldozing and scattered all over the area, thus rendering precise estimation of its size impossible. Some areas were also affected by the construction of several qanat lines. Still present structures included some architectural remains, lower parts of storage jars, and human burials. During four excavation seasons, 46 square trenches were explored revealing two phases of occupation at the site, the first dating to the Late

Environmentally transformative human use of land accelerated with the emergence of 5 agriculture, but the extent, trajectory, and implications of these early changes are not well understood. An empirical global assessment of land use from 10,000 BP to 1850 CE reveals a planet largely transformed by hunter-gatherers, farmers and pastoralists by 3,000 years ago, significantly earlier than land-use reconstructions commonly used by Earth scientists. Synthesis of knowledge contributed by over 250 archaeologists highlighted gaps in archaeological 10 expertise and data quality, which peaked at 2000 BP and in traditionally studied and wealthier regions. Archaeological reconstruction of global land-use history illuminates the deep roots of Earth's transformation through millennia of increasingly intensive land use, challenging the emerging Anthropocene paradigm that anthropogenic global environmental change is mostly recent. 15 One Sentence Summary: A map of synthesized archaeological knowledge on land use reveals a planet transformed by hunter-gatherers, farmers and pastoralists by 3,000 years ago.

Authors not found on Academia:
Torben Rick, Tim Denham, Jonathan Driver, Heather Thakar, Amber L. Johnson, R. Alan Covey, Jason Herrmann, Carrie Hritz, Catherine Kearns, Dan Lawrence, Michael Morrison, Robert J. Speakman, Martina L. Steffen, Keir M. Strickland, M. Cemre Ustunkaya, Jeremy Powell, Alexa Thornton.